Congressman Young Votes to Assist Our Nation's Veterans

Press Release

CONGRESSMAN YOUNG VOTES TO ASSIST OUR NATION'S VETERANS

ongressman for All Alaska Don Young voted today in favor of H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007. This bill seeks to improve the management of medical care, personnel actions, and quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces who are receiving medical care in an outpatient status.

"It is vital that we take care of our service members. Nobody can disagree with that," said Congressman Young. "This bill has many components to it that will ensure that members of our Armed Services receive the proper medical attention they should be getting. In my experience in meeting and talking with members of our military, there is a need for better health care. This legislation addresses that need. With all of our talk about the War on Terror, and supporting our troops overseas, we need to make sure we don't forget our troops who are back home. They are the ones suffering mentally and physically the after-effects of war. We can't just hang them out to dry; we need to make sure we continue to give them our unending support when they return home."

Among the many ways H.R. 1538 improves on our Veterans health care system:

Assigns specific case managers for every wounded individual

* Increases the ability for the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to track wounded service members
* Creates a toll-free hotline for individuals to report deficiencies in care
* Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of resident physicians at VA hospitals.

This vote passed the U.S. House of Representatives today 426-0.

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